Birthday Surprises
by nerdygaycas
Summary: Hogwarts AU. It's Dean's birthday and he enjoys hanging out with his brother at the Ravenclaw table. Of course there are other perks, like watching Castiel Novak, the guy he's been crushing over for the last four years.


**This is a present for my baby, Dean, who was celebrating his birthday today (it's still 24 here). The title was borrowed from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, chapter 18.**

**I really hope you like it, and please please please, leave reviews. God knows how much I love them**

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The morning of January 24th dawned foggy and cold, not that it was very surprising, but still after sixteen years of having the same climatic conditions on this day, Dean was a Little annoyed. Did I say sixteen? Oh well, I meant seventeen, because, of course, this was the day Dean Winchester would add another number to his existence, but more important than that, he was finally gonna become of age.

Oh, yes. He had great plans regarding this advantageous situation, but none that he could enjoy the fullest being stuck at the castle as he would be for some other months. Not that the time spent at the castle was dull or bothering; he liked wandering through the halls, always discovering something new, making magic, going to Hogsmeade, and hanging out with his friends.

At the foot of his bed lied some wrapped packages, obviously presents. His parents had send him mainly edible items: chocolate cauldrons, sugar quills, exploding bonbons, but the best was the good old muggle apple pie his mother baked him, and most surely had enchanted for it was tenderly warm. His father, a muggle, sent him an iPod but Dean wasn't really sure how to make that work in a place like Hogwarts. Figures.

On the way to the Great Hall many people greeted and congratulated him. He was popular; cocky and attractive, as charming as a Gryffindor could get.

"Hey ya, Sammy!" Dean beamed down at his thirteen year old brother, his shaggy hair was in desperate need of a haircut, Dean thought.

"Dean!" and yes, Sam was in that preposterous stage of adolescence where his voice would crack and squeak sporadically giving Dean perfect opportunities to tease his baby brother. "Happy birthday, dude"

Sam was sitting with the Ravenclaws, Dean too used to take a seat at the table whenever he had a chance, but avoiding being too clingy with the Ravenclaws. He had plenty of Gryffindor friends, but hanging out with his brother was cool, but what was even better was the blue-eyed boy who talked very little.

"I got you this" said Sam, he was holding what clearly was a wrapped book. Dean wanted to sigh annoyed because really? A _book_? But Sammy had his puppy eyes, all expectation and hope.

"Huh" his lip quirked and his features contorted in approval "_Ganking Monsters: The Modern Guide for Wizards and Witches_, by Bren Boulstridge. Thanks, Sammy." Messing Sam's hair Dean sat next to his sibling and started piling food on his plate. The heap was pretty impressive by the time he took his first bite.

Sam on the other hand was eyeing Dean with a mingled look of disgust and amusement.

"So…" a mouthful of bacon sandwich and his right hand shoving porridge down his throat.

Sam rolled his eyes at Dean who apparently was never taught good manners "What?"

Dean gulped down and his cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink. "You know what, bitch"

Sam laughed openly and shook his head "What? Your big gay crush on Cas?"

A punch to his left shoulder left Sam wincing and consequently kicking Dean's calf under the table.

"Shut up!"

And he started with his ration of sausages and toasts.

"It's creepy, Dean. You know that, right?" Dean just hummed in response to cut him off but Sam was in the touchy-feely mood so he let his verbal diarrhea commence "You fancy him since what, third year, fourth? And you have done nothing about it! One of these days he's going to discover you have his schedule learned by heart and that you stalk him when he's in the library. I think it's time for you to do something about it, Dean. Either you ask him out or you leave the guy alone, and I'm being serious…" he added when he noticed the first signs of Dean's counterattack "Dude, you're _in love_ with him and he doesn't even know 'cause you're a bloody idiot! And if you keep being such a stalker—"

"I'm not a stalker! Merlin, Sam! You really think that low of me?" refuted Dean leaving aside the pumpkin juice.

"You were about to buy a love potion, in the name of Merlin!"

"Okay, but _I didn'_t. Besides, I don't even know if he likes chicks or dudes because _you_ can't even do me a favor. Great brother skills right there, Sammy. You're in his house! Not to mention you're friends with him and he hasn't spoken a single word to me in all these years" Dean stabbed his ice cream furiously and got up to leave the table and almost toppled over the douchebag who had decided to stand right behind him like a friggin' statue.

"What the fuck!" muttered Dean, his delicious ice cream wasted over the guy's cloak.

"Apologies" and fuck, he knew that voice! He had dreamed of that voice over the course of several years, it had never been directed at him but for Merlin's beard it was the hottest thing he'd heard in his life.

Dean looked up from the black fabric and the intensity of that stare would haunt him 'til the end of his days. He felt a weight at the back of his throat, his body growing warmer and his knees quiver a little.

It was uncomfortable, that moment. Both boys just stared at each other, bodies perhaps a little too close, minds running a million miles per second, and the clearing of a throat. Sam.

"Oh. Hello, Sam" the younger Winchester waved at Castiel and then Castiel looked at Dean once more. From a pocket he extracted a medium-sized box which there was no way in hell normally fitted. The guy was pretty smart so he'd probably learned an extension charm.

Meanwhile Dean was speechless, breathless, astonished. His brain must have been in some sort of shock because the only thing he heard was a soft 'Happy Birthday' and then Castiel was gone.

A hand hitting his back made him flinch and return to the present, where sadly neither blue eyes nor pink chapped lips were to be seen.

"Open it!" it was Sammy, who else? It appeared that Castiel Novak, genius Ravenclaw student and bewitching male specimen remembered Dean's name, knew his birthday, and on top of all, had given him a present, all encased in a timid smile and vehement stare.

Dean was aware he was being a girl about this, but he didn't wanna damage the wrapping. He had gone to his dorm refusing Sam's protests because this right here? This was what he'd been waiting for since he'd fallen for the quiet pure-blood. And this? He was going to savour every moment of it.

Heart beating hard in his chest and fingers trembling from excitement Dean disposed of the wrapping paper putting it carefully aside. What he found inside surprised him. It was a Sneakoscope, but not like the ones he saw on a daily basis. This one looked out-fashioned, almost like a relic. It had beautiful engraving he couldn't understand and he really hated himself for letting his vision get all cloudy and blurry. There was something else, a box containing assorted sweets, from chocolate frogs and crystallized pineapple to blood pops and tooth splintering mints.

"Oh, Cas, when I thought you couldn't get more perfect" he mumbled to himself, too overwhelmed to start eating anything.

And then Dean discovered Castiel Novak could indeed exceed his expectations once more. Below the sweets box there was a hand-written note. It was brief and clear and it made Dean's heart almost burst out.

_Happy birthday, Dean._

_I bet you probably don't even know my name and that's fine, maybe it's for the best given the circumstance. However, I consider it selfish and simply wrong to keep this truth from you any longer. And please, do not feel obligated to do anything you don't want to after you've read what I should have said years ago. I beg of you not to think less of me, if it is, of course, that you think of me. I hope this doesn't make you too uneasy or make you dislike me a great deal, that's not my intention. I hope your day doesn't turn too obnoxious after this, and please do forgive me._

_I love you._

It took him several minutes to find a Ravenclaw willing to go all the way up to the tower to find the boy with beautiful sad eyes and confess his well-cemented feelings for him, to tell Cas of all the things they'd both missed for being too damn afraid to say years back, and to just take hold of him and never let him go.

"He isn't there" said Chuck, a scrawny fifth year with nervous movements.

"Uh, okay. Thanks. Any idea where he might be?"

Chuck scratched the back of his neck and shifted his feet. "Class?"

"No. I already checked." He turned his back to leave and carry on his search for Cas "Thanks again, man"

At five in the afternoon he was tired and anxious and hopeless. He'd check twice more in the Ravenclaw Tower, the painting on the walls were tired of seeing his face, the domestic elves had treated him with a snack he rejected politely, he'd been kicked out of the Quidditch field, the gamekeeper had banned him of going anywhere near the Forbidden Forest with a stern look, and Sam had executed his most epic bitch face so far. But there were no signs of Cas and Dean was sincerely forlorn.

So he went to the only place that allowed him to find some peace and clear his head. The Black Lake.

His hands were buried deep inside his pockets. The temperature had dropped down but the view was as breath taking as ever. This was a place Dean was very fond of; sometimes he even swam in it despite its cold temperatures.

And there by the shore, with his knees close to his chest and his gaze imbibing the horizon, seated over a big flat boulder, was Castiel.

Body heat defying the cold January afternoon, Dean Winchester felt steaming blood running through his veins. With slow but assertive steps he came to stand next to the stone Cas was sitting on. He too looked to the horizon, not sure if he was prepared to see the face he loved the most.

With a quick glance he confirmed there was enough space for him on the stone and he sat next to Cas, fighting the unyielding desire to nuzzle there where the covered neck met shoulder and verify if it was as warm as he'd imagined for four long years.

"Nothing would ever make me think less of you, Cas." Eyes straight ahead he didn't see the rapid movement of Cas' head, but the wind told him, still he didn't look. "I, uh… Cas"

"It's fine, Dean. When I said you shouldn't feel obligated it was true." His voice trembled a little at the beginning as he hadn't used it over a long period of time.

"No, Cas. It's not that, I'm not… obligated to do anything" Dean turned his head and marveled at the pale skin and dark hair. In a moment of boldness he took one of Cas' hand and the coldness of it astounded him.

He held it in his own and lifted it, caressing the upper side with his other hand. The long fingers were delicate but strong and he hesitated no more when he saw the expectant contemplation dwelling on Cas. Dean kissed each knuckle devotedly. Cas' eyes were wide open, his lips parted, his hard thumping heavily.

"I never thought you uh… had any feelings whatsoever towards me, Cas. I swear I thought you had no idea who I was, and man, I've got it bad since I saw you. I feel so stupid, Cas. For not telling you, for being such a coward… I'm sorry. I know it's stupid and creepy, or that's what Sam says, but I like watching you and I know your classes so I'll know where you'll be and I've been trying to ask you out since forever but I never had the balls to do it." He let out a sigh and stole a swift glance at Cas "You're all I can think about, okay? Day and night and I just want to make you happy and it's hard 'cause you're you and I'm me, and bloody hell, Cas! Say something!"

But Castiel remained quiet and unreadable as he ever was.

Dean moved closer to him and cupped his face diving into the blue spheres "For four years I have been waiting to do this, Cas." He waited a little more to give Cas the chance to back away, but he didn't, instead he licked his lips nervously and stared at him. Dean moved forward and their lips collided nonchalantly. Dean moved his hand to Cas' nape and pulled him closer. Cas opened his mouth allowing Dean's tongue entrance to explore and stroke and feel. Cas bit Dean's lower lip, their teeth clashed slightly and they were left panting and leaning their foreheads against each other.

"I love you too, Cas"

Dean's new favorite sound was the soft rumble that was Cas' laughter. It warmed his insides more than firewhiskey ever had. The Black Lake was immense before them and the sky was significantly darker. The lights of the castle at their back already resplendent.

They snuggled closer to each other, their warmths mashing together. Dean's arm over Cas' shoulder and Castiel's head pressed against Dean's chest.

"Happy birthday, Dean" muttered Cas.

Dean chuckled and pressed a gentle kiss to his head. "Yeah, Cas. Thanks. For everything"


End file.
